Happy RecapI really like Derek Bell. He came to the Mets because the Astros wanted to get rid of him -- they insisted he be part of the Mike Hampton deal. Everyone expected he'd just be with the Mets for 2000, but he's been a terrific player. He's been productive at the plate, and he's playing an outstanding right field. He'll be a free agent after the season, but I'm hoping that somehow, some way, he'll be back with the Mets in 2001.

murphyHow could the Astros dislike this guy? What were they thinking forcing him out of town? He's a good major league hitter, a great defensive outfielder and he seems like he might just be the nicest guy to wear a Mets uniform. He's no Rickey Henderson or Bobby Boo. No wonder the Astros have the worst record in the majors.

Won DoneyWhen the Mets traded Roger Cedeno away, I thought it was going to be one of the many bad trades that have been made in Mets history. I was wrong. Derek Bell has been great since joining the team. They no longer wanted him inn Houston, but I have yet to figure out why. His ability to play the game and his attitude have been much needed. (Just don't have him pitch too often.)

Big Met FanI will never forget Derek Bell's pitching appearance against the Padres in August of 2000. The Mets were down by approximately 10 runs when D-Bell took the mound. His first pitch floated around 45 mph, a pitch Bell called "eephus." Bell gave up 5 runs, but amazingly kept a straight face.

Overall, not much of a hitter (or pitcher), great defender, but didn't contribute all that much. Great sense of humor, though.

Mr. Sparkle
December 13, 2000It looks like these comment were written in April. Dereck got out of the gate real quick and looked like a great pick-up but ended up fading fast and really being a drain down the stretch. Best thing to happen to Mets in playoffs was him getting hurt. I liked Dereck because he was a Mets fan growing up and he seemed to love being here but he's just not that good. Very good defensively but way too streaky withthe bat. Hope he enjoys Pittsburgh.

Alex
December 14, 2000He started out hitting .400 to open up the first month of the 2000 season. After that....wow, nothing. Yeah, he was worthless in the longrun and him spraining his ankle was the best thing that happened. But I'll always like Derek Bell for being Derek Bell. I had tickets in the 155 area on the field and went to about 10 games there. Bell was always dancing or giving a ball to a kid or something nice and/or funny. Yeah he sucked but oh well, he made us laugh, gotta admit that.

EG
March 18, 2001Couldn't stand the hip-hop nonsense, or the fact that he compiled all his numbers during only 15% of the season, but........he always played hard, and he always treated the fans well.

Maybe some of you haven't noticed, but that is a rare combination these days.

Mr. Sparkle
March 29, 2001Rated as the 16th best rightfielder(last in the league) in the NL for the 2001 season according to ESPN.com, one slot behind Timo Perez.

kinerskorner
April 19, 2001extremely streaky hitter, and extremely weird looking guy. my friend thinks that his eyes make him look like one of those pound puppy stuffed animals.

murphy
May 25, 2001Since May of last year, Derek Bell has probably been the worst everyday player in baseball. He carried the Mets on his back from mid-April to mid-May last year, and then completely fell off the face of the earth.

Mr. Sparkle
May 29, 2001Currently stealing $5m a year from the tight wad Pirates of all teams, hitting a wopping .136. What a clown.

Jeff Torborg
September 20, 2001Possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen during a Mets Game was Derek Bell GETTING BOBBY V. TO DANCE. Just because that I wish they still had him.

Won Doney
October 23, 2001I thought Derek Bell was a nice guy and everything, but he didn't hit after April.

tvdude7
February 21, 2002he may not of had an unbelievable year, but he was a really great guy. I sat in one of the right field boxes for an saturday afternoon met game. Bell made out in the first inning, and I'm like "that's okay bell, u'll get 'em next time." He looked at me and gave me a huge smile and said "I know I will." Too bad he struck his next at bat on three pitches. Bell, though, was cool and always talked to the people sitting near him, even when he was at his worst.

Jim Snedeker
March 7, 2002Probably had the nicest smile ever to don a Mets uniform. Sad to see him go.

Mr. Sparkle
March 21, 2002Ater hitting .173 last year for the Buc-os he now says he didn't know he had to compete for a job in spring training this year and if he's not named starter he is going into "Operation Shutdown"! What a set of cahones on this guy! He's a pisser. If only baseball were like football and you could cut a guy without having to pay the rest of his salary!

Larry Burns
June 17, 2002This guy is schizophrenic! He came to the Mets as a troubled ballplayer. He begins the year hot and makes a name for himself by chatting with fans between innings, living on a houseboat and being a unique character. Then around July he goes cold and never regains his stroke. He ends up leaving the Mets going to the Pirates, sucking, and then (comically) going into Operation Shutdown. The Pirates released him. One sportswriter had a great comment on his release. He said Derek was a perfect Pirate, he lived on a boat and stole money. This guy is a pistol!

Ventman
July 6, 2002My ex-gf and I (and some of our friends) were relaxing in Chelsea Pier back in 2000. I looked out at the boats and saw one that I had seen in a Sports Illustrated article the day before. I said "Hey, that looks just like the boat Derek Bell owns. See the number 14?" About 20 seconds later he strolls on by with his buddy and hops aboard. The buddies went over and nervously asked him for his autograph. He smiled and said "sure kid". He even let them take a picture next to the boat.

Later on we walked over to a nearby strip club for goofs, and the girls were telling us how he constantly tries to get them on his boat. Guess I'd do the same thing if I had the bucks. All in all - cool guy until this past year.

Jim
July 7, 2002I have to agree with an earlier post. Getting Bobby Valentine to dance in the Houston dugout was absolutely hilarious. Not only was it Bell's greatest contribution as a Met, he also made Bobby V prove his worth as a childhood ballroom dancing stud!

steve r. nyc
July 30, 2002I was at a game in August of 2000 and was sitting out in right field. Bell spent much of his non-playing time entertaining us by dancing around, tossing foul balls our way, and signing autographs. A bunch of people had actual bells they would ring and he always turned around to acknowledge them. The kids in our section were smiling and delighted and rooted for him when he came to bat. Those kids will probably always remember the good time they had at a Mets game because of him. Say what you want about his playing abilities, his attitude toward the fans was admirable in an age of spoiled millionaire brats who could care less about the people who make it possible for them to be ballplayers. Thanks for the memories Derek. Wish there were more like you.

Tony
July 30, 2002It's a shame that he wasn't a consistently good player, because I'm sure that he would have been one of the most beloved figures in recent NY sports history...and we wouldn't have to be saddled with Burnitz in right.

2. As a Pirate he threatened to 'shut it down.' He got $9M from Pittsburgh amazingly. A writer in PA said it best at that point when he indicated that Bell was the perfect Pirate, because he lives on a boat and steals money.

Gregory Gewirtz
March 31, 2003Someone else described Bell as a "lackluster waste of space," and I agree.

We were forced to take him as part of the Mike Hampton trade, but Bell did nothing that couldn't be reasonably duplicated by dozens of other guys. He had a hot April, and another hot stretch somewhere in June or July, but that was it.

His season-ending injury in Game 1 of the 2000 NLDS at SF was beneficial, and we had the excuse to play the hot Timo Perez in his place.

Rob
April 17, 2003I'll always remember two things about Derek. First thing was when Clemens hit Piazza with the fast ball and Derek stood at the top of the dugout with the stupidest looking face on yelling at Clemens. Next is Derek's "Cy Young" performance. I just hope that other pitchers wear big doofy sunglasses when they pitch.

Scatch
May 29, 2003Ah yes, the man who wanted to bring hip hop to baseball and wore really big to prove his point. Started out nice and faded quick. Was not sorry to see him go. That whole "Operation Shutdown" business with the Pirates is still pretty funny.

Meredith
June 26, 2003Hey guys! I am a Mets fan by family, but have the pleasure of knowing D. His younger brother played for a college team that I work for and D would come to any of the games he could without getting in trouble! He would just sit in the dugout and help coach the kids. D is and was a real class act, he never turned any autographs or photographs down and loved to help us distract the other teams by whispering to their people "hey - isnt that Derek Bell sitting over there?"!! He is a great guy - oh and all that money he got for doing nothing? Rest assured he put it to good use - he has donated much of it to our little college and the team as well as area little league teams and Boys and Girls Clubs!

Brooklyn 539er
September 10, 2003l remember Derek singing and screaming the 4 letter opera at Roger Clemens after he beaned Piazza. lf the Yankee Stadium dugout did not have the protective fence in front of it l'm sure Derek was going to go after Clemens. Now THAT'S a teammate.

DB
July 5, 2005Bell was one of those 2000 Mets who needed another chance and then managed to get it. His first 16 at- bats were horrid, but his next 16 was flawlessly good. His knee injuries allowed for the arrival of Timo Perez, and later for the return of Matt Franco in the playoffs.

Daryn
January 26, 2006He has my all time favorite intro song when he came to bat with the Mets...Big Pimpin'. Everytime I hear his name, that song pops in my head.

Jonathan Stern
February 1, 2006I remember watching him joyfully crossing home plate during the 1992 World Series and thinking it was neat that a guy my age was in the Fall Classic. Of course, now that I'm a grizzled old vet, the novelty has worn off. I had high hopes for Bell when he got here. He looked like he enjoyed being on the field. But he started off well, gut hurt, and faded in a hurry.

Lee
March 22, 2006The most exciting player in Mets history. Always had a smile on his face, and he was pretty clutch too. It was painful to watch him go down in the playoffs, but if it didn't happen, Timo Perez doesn't come in and save the day. Still, I love Derek Bell.

"He was found with a crack pipe in the back seat of his car which was still warm," police spokesman Larry McKinnon said. Bell is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, McKinnon said. Bell later told police the items were his.

Glad to see he put some of my money (I'm a Pee-Rat fan) to good use. Dollars out of my pocket and into Derek's lawyer's pocket, I reckon. Sad state of affairs.

Doug
August 19, 2006I remember watching him on TV one game. He was playing in the outfield and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket! He then paid for some guys popcorn!! What a guy!

rob sayegh
December 22, 2006First off the guy is a genius. I think I will try "Operation Shutdown" on my wife and see if it works!!!! Who could forget BIG PIMPIN down in NYC every time he came to bat?? And the doubleheader sweep agaunst CHI in April 2000 in 44 deg weather???? He lived in Jamaica Bay on that boat "his flo crib" LOL just like in Deuce Bigelow European Gigolo.

Bonbolito
May 20, 2007George Carlin had a bit about cats not wanting to admit anything. One could try jumping out of a closed window, pretend it was intentional, then scoot behind the couch and go "Meow, @#$^%&!! MEOW". I remember seeing Derek Bell field a ball at Shea once that resulted in him sliding knee first into the concrete & steel edge of the right field stands. He cooly got up and ran into the dugout afterwards. He had to have done the same thing.

Scott
June 1, 2007I ran into Derek Bell at a Popeye's in Manhattan in 1999, when Houston came to NY to play the Mets. He was covered in gold chains and wearing alligator boots. He was accompanied by two of the sketchiest characters I've ever seen--definite pimp/drug dealers. Bell stood in front of me in line and ordered 2 meals for himself. (It was only 2.5 hours before game time.)

When the girl was taking too long to get the food he began muttering, "what the {bleep} is taking so long {bleep}er!" I didn't say anything to him, mostly out of fear of his henchmen. After I finished eating I yelled out, "Hey, Derek--you're a good player!" The two henchmen quickly looked over to me with shocked faces, like I had busted them doing a dope deal. Derek just nodded to me and said, "Thank you." I always wondered who in the hell those guys were and what they were doing with Derek.

frank
October 1, 2008I remember a game he took money out of his pocket and bought some little girl cotton candy! Good player while we had him.

Michael
April 10, 2011One of the great "personalities" of that playoff caliber era Mets seasons. Years later - I still vividly recall waiting for "Big Pimpin" to blast across the PA while attending games or hearing it on the TV when Derek came to bat. It was really hard not to root for him to do well while he was on the Mets. He represents the good parts/memories of those teams to me.

Brandi
September 6, 2013Derek Bell is a really nice guy. Met him some years back; he is friends with my uncle and has pretty much became a part of my family! My daughter just recently got his autograph.